Who proposed in his underwear? Who loves to boss her husband around? Who called off a lavish wedding? The true story of Hollywood's hottest and happiest couples.

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Hollywood is great at giving us good love stories on screen. But if you're looking for long-lived romance, the hills of Los Angeles aren't the best place to start. Celebrity relationships often have a shorter shelf life than milk (hello, J.Lo!). But what is it about showbiz that wreaks such havoc on togetherness?

"Often, celebrity couples don't make it once they hit the inevitable reality phase of a relationship," says Linda Kairys, a marriage and family psychotherapist in Los Angeles who has many actors as clients. "They're always going to find someone who is prettier, richer, wiser around the corner."

Still, there are couples who defy the odds — The Tonight Show host Jay Leno has been married to wife Mavis for 23 years. "I think the key to being successful in Hollywood is to make show business money but lead a normal life," Jay says. Here, a look at the current crop of hopeful Hollywood marrieds.

Married 10+ yearsTOM HANKS AND RITA WILSON (Married 4/30/88)Long before Tom, 54, became the Oscar king of Hollywood, he and actress Rita, 54, became bosom buddies. Then they fell in love.

Love and laces Tom showed up on the set of Volunteers in Mexico in late 1984 to find that Rita had been cast as his love interest. During a break, Rita was unlacing her sandals. When Tom crouched down to help her, "I fell madly in love," she said.

The (big) hitch Tom was in a disintegrating marriage and had two small kids. So, while "the magic [with Rita] was quite palpable," Tom has said, "you gotta do the right thing." Once separated, Tom asked Rita on a date. By New Year's Eve 1987, he was proposing. Her response: "You bet!"

The wedding Raised in Los Angeles, Rita is of Greek heritage-and her wedding to Tom in 1988 was like a scene from My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which Rita coproduced. "Everyone was smashing plates and throwing money!" she recalled.

Why it works Rita and the couple's two sons, Chester, 21, and Truman, 14, give Tom the stability he longed for during his own fractured, nomadic childhood. "For years I was really lonely," Tom has said. "That's why I say my wife saved me, because I don't feel lonely anymore."

JOHN TRAVOLTA AND KELLY PRESTON (Married 9/12/91)At 19 years and counting, Hollywood prince John, 56, and actress Kelly, 48, have mastered married life-and the art of living well.

Close encounters The couple first met in 1987 during a screen test for the little-seen film The Experts. Unfortunately, Kelly was still married to her first husband, actor Kevin Gage. In 1989, the actors were reintroduced at Kirstie Alley's Christmas party. By then divorced, Kelly was engaged to Charlie Sheen. Kirstie told John, "I don't see why you and Kelly aren't together." He replied, "Neither do I. But it's too late now."

Cupid strikes A year later, both ended up in Vancouver-and Kelly was at last unattached (a little incident involving Charlie's gun, which accidentally fell and shot Kelly, didn't help that relationship). After several romantic dates, John said, "Do you want to be boyfriend and girlfriend?" They've been together ever since.

Le wedding Their nuptials were supposed to be a lavish New York extravaganza, but when plans got out of hand, the couple eloped at the HÃ´tel de Crillon, in Paris, in 1991. As for a honeymoon, "We go on a honeymoon every other week," John has said.

Why it works The couple know how to enjoy their success. They have a private chef, personal shoppers, and airplanes, as well as houses in Florida, Hawaii, Los Angeles, and Maine. For Kelly's 40th birthday, John flew her and four of her girlfriends to a villa in Italy for five days-sans kids. The duo are "always negotiating the future together," John told Good Housekeeping. "At the end of the day, it's only what you have with that other person that matters."

KELLY RIPA AND MARK CONSUELOS (Married 5/1/96)The high-spirited cohost of Live with Regis and Kelly and former star of ABC's Hope & Faith proved that art can imitate life when she married her gorgeous soap opera costar shortly before their characters were hitched on the show. Now, after 14 years of real-life wedded bliss, the couple have three kids (Michael, 13; Lola, nine; and Joaquin, seven) and thriving careers.

Dream a little dream Kelly was already a star on All My Children when Mark appeared on the set in 1995 for an audition. "The day I saw him, I thought, Well, there he is. There's my husband," Kelly once told Good Housekeeping. "When I saw him the next day, I just blurted out, 'I dreamed that we were on a plane to Rome and were taking our baby there to visit your grandparents.' He looked at me like I was the most insane, absurd, and weird person on the planet."

Just like a soap opera When they met, Mark was dating several women, and Kelly was living with her boyfriend. But that didn't stop their lovefest. "It was a tangled, disgusting web we wove," she has cracked. "At one point, we felt like we were our characters on [All My Children]."

Viva Las Vegas No megabucks, helicopter-hovering, celebrity-flanked wedding for Kelly and Mark: "He just said to me one day, 'Do you want to go to Vegas tomorrow and get married?' I said, 'Sure.' And it's the smartest thing I have ever done in my life. Mark and I wanted to have a marriage, not a wedding." Things moved quickly, as Mark has pointed out: "We got together, and next thing you know, we're married, and four months later, we were pregnant. It was a crazy way to get into a relationship."

Isn't he romantic For Kelly's 33rd birthday, on October 2, 2003, Mark asked her out for lunch-then surprised her by flying her to Montreal (her favorite city) for a day of dining and spa treatments. That night, back in Manhattan, there was another surprise: a party with 140 friends and relatives.

Why it works Despite their busy schedules, the couple remain committed to each other and to their family: "We both have the same sort of mentality: You're my partner, I'm your partner, and it's you and me against the world. We've always worked as a team, and we always will," Kelly told Good Housekeeping. Together, they form a mutual-admiration society: "I think she's hilarious," Mark recently said, while Kelly has confessed, "He's much prettier than I am."

Jay Leno on making love last
The Tonight Show host Jay Leno has never forgotten the most important person in the audience: his wife of 30 years, Mavis. Here are his thoughts on keeping a Hollywood marriage strong.

"I really think the key to a long and healthy marriage is that, honestly, there's nothing worth fighting about. If Mavis is so upset and wants something badly enough to fight about it, then she can have it!

"So much of making a marriage work is just about common sense. If something is important to your wife, you have to make it important to you too. My wife has plenty of interests that I wouldn't care less about if she weren't involved, so I get dragged into doing all kinds of things. But I realize that just makes me a better, more well-rounded person.

"Actually, of all the various kinds of entertainers, comedians tend to stay married the longest. We're just dorky guys who have a sense of humor; we're so appreciative that any woman would go out with us, of course we're going to be grateful!"